What Is A 510 Connector?

February 12, 2016

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4 Min Read

You really can’t get far in vaping these days without 510 connectors. They appear to be on every tank, RDA and mod that has been produced over the last few years and have become the industry standard, but what exactly are they? – While the concept of two things that screw together is very simple, as part of our beginners program we feel it is necessary for vapers to understand exactly what the 510 connectors job is and how they work.

As with anything else in life, if you understand how it works, it is easier to diagnose problems that you may be having with your device and fix it without having to run to a vape shop. We are going to look at how the 510 connectors are put together and the best ways to care for them to ensure that you can keep vaping without major headaches.

Why Is It Called A 510 Connector

The 510’s get their name from the length of the connector, 5 mm and the 10 threads that run along them. When you look at the bottom of your tank or RDA, you are only looking at one part, the male part of the 510 connection. The female receiver section of the 510 is inset into your mod and it is only when they are screwed together that they are technically a complete 510.

How Does The 510 Connector Work

On each section of the 510, both male and female, you will see corresponding components. Even though there are only 3 sections to each, every section has its own task to fulfill.The outer section, the collar or recess with the threading is actually the negative side of the circuit

The innermost section of any 510 is a small pin that acts as the positive contact for the circuit. While pins can be screw threaded, friction fitted or spring-loaded, they all have essentially the same job, which is to allow the flow of current from the batteries and mod up to the atomizer.

Some 510’s have a protruding center pin on the tank/RDA side that can be used with hybrid connectors, basically a brass ring with a hole big enough to put the male section through so it may connect directly to the battery for minimum voltage drop. When you hear of people venting their devices, it is generally because they have put a tank/RDA with a flush mounted into a hybrid, make sure you know the difference between what is safe and what will cause you to lose fingers.

The section immediately surrounding the center pin is the insulator. If the insulator fails to do its job of keeping the positive and negative contacts separated, the risk of a hard short is almost inevitable. This tiny piece of your vape mod is probably the most important as far as safety is concerned and most often overlooked.

The outer section, the collar or recess with the threading is actually the negative side of the circuit. By screwing the threads together, you are not only completing the negative side but also using it as a means to keep both positive pins in contact. If the threads work loose, you will lose connection and the device will fail to fire.

Who knew there was so much going on in that tiny little space.

510 Maintainance

If you want to keep your devices in good working order, there are a couple of things you should do on a regular basis.

Over time, the connection points can become oxidized and cause a poor connection. The best way to prevent this is by taking a cue tip with a small amount of dish soap and running it around the inner threads of the female component. Do the same on the male side and you will never have a problem with gunking up the threads. Most of the time this is caused by e-liquid leaking down through the threads, so be careful not to over drip.

While you have the connection open, perform a visual inspection of the insulator. If it looks dry and cracked, it’s probably time to replace it. If it looks like it has been melted at some point, definitely change it because as I said earlier, if there is anything wrong with this little piece, it can put everything else in jeopardy.

About the author

Daniel Hall

Avid Vaper, advocate and cloud chaser. Writer for 3 vaping websites and broadcaster/presenter as Vapin Demon on Coast 2 Coast Vapers. Originally from Manchester, England, I got bored one day and moved to the USA. Vaping saved my life and my aim is to save as many others as I can.

3 Comments

I was using my Coil master mini ohm Reader and I over fired the coils apparently. It melted the insulation/plastic on the threading on my OBS Engine RTA. The 510 popped (dangling) out of the ohm Reader. Any advice?

Do the materials in the 510 adaptor of a mod and an atomizer (sub ogm, rda, rta, srda) have to match in order to be compatable and safe? Like, is it okay to have a silver 510 pen attached to a mod that has a gold-plated connection. New to vaping and wanna try the old Royal Hunter RDA (its on sale and highly rated) and it has a silver plated 510 pin. Never hear anyone on YouTube talk about this.